Bart the General

[1][3] In the episode, Bart Simpson enlists Grampa's help to battle local bully Nelson Muntz.

Marge encourages Bart to reason with Nelson, but Homer urges him to bend the rules and fight dirty.

After Herman teaches him military tactics, Bart declares war on Nelson and his gang of bullies.

Herman drafts an armistice that states that Nelson will retain his honorary position and name but not hold any actual power.

[5] David Silverman was the director and was somewhat stressed, because he was doing storyboards for this episode while also directing "Bart the Genius".

[7] Voice actress Dana Hill was originally assigned to play Nelson and was present at the table read, but not at the recording session (for unknown reasons).

Several lines of dialogue, Bart slapping one of his soldiers for "being a disgrace", and the music was lifted directly from the 1970 film Patton, composed by Jerry Goldsmith.

[6] The marching sequence[7] and the silhouettes of the children climbing the jungle gym against the setting sun are a nod to Stanley Kubrick's 1987 film Full Metal Jacket.

The authors of the book I Can't Believe It's a Bigger and Better Updated Unofficial Simpsons Guide, Warren Martyn and Adrian Wood, said: "Some good lines and setpieces aside – we love Bart's fantasy of death at Nelson's hands – this episode nevertheless feels a bit unsure of itself, particularly towards the end.

[12] Matt Groening notes on the commentary track that he finds it strange how controversial this episode seemed at the time of its release.

[13] "Bart the General" and Seinfeld's "The Tape" were used in a Dartmouth College experiment to study brain activity in relation to humorous moments in television shows.

[19] A digital edition of the series' first season, including the episode, was published December 20, 2010 in the United States through Amazon Video and iTunes.